Product Soul goes to the Opera

As much as I cherish that sweet soul music running through my veins, I find that on occasion there is no better treat for the senses than taking in an opera.

The opera starts with an overture. A piece of music that is filled with so much energy, promise, and intrigue, that I can't wait to hear what is in store.. even if I already know the story. And then as the story develops there are the themes that keep returning, in so many surprising ways. Some of the themes are first introduced by one artist and then completely transformed by another.

Invariably, there are those moments when several of the musicians each sing their own part, conveying their own emotions. They seem completely unaware of one another, but the conductor, the composer, or perhaps the ultimate creator intertwines each individual voice into a sublime harmony that rises way above the individual parts. Those are the moments that touch me the most - they seem to unlock the entire story for me. They are not the best known pieces in the work, but to me they represent some turning point in the story.

Once this turning point has happened, I find that the music and the spectacle resonates throughout me. The different voices and instruments manage to evoke different emotions - all of which come together in the finale - that amazing outlet, that marks at once the ending of a great story and the beginning of something new.

When I first get a hold of the CD of a performance I've attended, I scan through the tracks, looking for that turning point piece. It may not be sung by one of the leading singers, but to me it was the a piece that opened my soul to the music. I like to play it over and over, and perhaps find it online, to see how other artists have interpreted it.

Eventually, I also listen to the overture. The overture seems to be the piece that everyone whistles the next day. Here are some great examples.

Overtures that are guaranteed to inspire you

The wonderful thing about working in software is that so many software engineers are also talented musicians. I asked a colleague why he thinks it is that the overture sticks with us. After all, it's instrumental, it is played while the stage is still dark, and doesn't include any of the singers that so many of have come to see.

"It sets the stage" he explains "it introduces the themes. If you listen carefully, every theme, every emotion, and every plot that is about to unfold is right there in the overture."

That made me think of the kickoff of a product development project. Confident executives appear and lay out a bold vision for market leadership and staggering profits; I can almost hear the William Tell overture blasting through the room, inspiring all who attended to start galloping at full speed. Other kickoffs are marked by an urgency to capture a market, there is a nervous energy that rings through everyone's words, much like the overture to the Barber of Seville. Many important statements are made and repeated. They appear in large font in PowerPoints, are repeated in bulleted form in the handouts, and find their way into jokes that people make when they leave the room - much like the recurring themes in the overture to the Magic Flute or Carmen.

It is unfortunate that the kickoff occurs in a dark theatre with an empty stage. I have an idea of who is going to play a leading role, but I don't have a clear view of how everything is going to come together.

I can anticipate going through the initial stages of the project, where talented team members bring great passion into the effort and push things to great new heights, much like Paverotti or Callas who can make an entrance onto the stage and capture our hearts with one clear note.

I can imagine that invariably, the scenery will change. Pieces of the set that looked like trees will become people, and walls will turn into skies. This is inevitable - as budgets change, project scope is redefined, and competitors, partners, or customers realign the themselves.

But I never know exactly when that turning point piece will occur. It can happen when a leading customer takes a first look at a prototype and is finally able to define the real requirements. It can happen when engineers have wrestled a new technology to the ground and provide the first benchmarks. It can happen when team members take a closer look at regulation or at a previously issued patent and uncover a legal obstacle. This is when the different stakeholders all speak up at the same time, using different pitches, different tempi, and different volumes. In the absence of a conductor, a composer, or an ultimate creator, it often falls onto the product manager to create harmony out of these disparate voices. This is the turning point piece.. not the best known piece in the score, not the piece that features the leading artists, but the piece that serves to unfold the rest of the story.

As a product manager, I look for inspiration in music, which helps me listen, repeat, rephrase, and look for common themes. I can interject, slow down the tempo or the volume, so that small voices are also heard - voices that may be located off stage but can be brought into the center. I can bring harmony to a chaotic situation, bring about a turning point, and move the project to its finale.

Finales often repeat the theme from the overture. The confident executives appear once again and echo the bold vision. Almost everyone who participated in the project is there, chiming in with the same energy as they did during the overture. The voices come together with staggering volume and speed, and the orchestra pulls out everything. It is a thunderous occasion. But to those who witnessed the turning point, it is obvious that there is a new dimension to the voices that wasn't there in the overture. The conflicts, defeats, and triumphs have given everyone's voice a new depth.

Can you hear it in these finales?

I hope you enjoyed this musical adventure!

Product Management Puzzles

This month my inspiration comes not from the world of sweet soul music, but from watching a documentary about crossword puzzle fans. I used to be good at solving crosswords and cryptograms in Dutch (my native language) but after 20+ years of living in the US I have ended up doing poorly at crosswords in Dutch and English. Nevertheless, what inspired me was the idea that when I try to solve a crossword I search for the clues I can solve, and use the solutions to branch out into areas of the puzzle where I have no clue at all. Bit by bit, I am able to solve the puzzle. Isn't product management a bit like that? You start with what you know, you rely on your experience, you make guesses at times, you are willing to go back and fix your mistakes, and you build on that to complete the picture.

Here are the clues
Across
1. Thus or so
4. Calculate this for a prospect to help them make the business case for buying you product
7. Massachusetts region known for beaches and whale watching
11. Artist and musician Yoko - - -
12. - - - chart
13. Mainframe programming language
14. Programming language developed for department of defense systems
15. Indian lentil dish
16. Spreadsheet software
17. Photograph (abbr.)
18. Lake in Italy
20. Exclamation when great insight is achieved
22. Document outlining two parties’ goal to execute an agreement
23. Robot in 2001 movie - IBM minus 1
26. Big in size (abbr.)
28. Document you send to prospective employers or headhunters
31. Software development method that calls for scrums and sprints
34. Religion that emphasizes spiritual unity of all humankind
35. Succinct and inspiring statement of what a company plans to achieve
37. Graduate business degree
38. Either you go or - - -
39. First woman in Bible
41. Day of worship and rest (abbr)
44. Bring - - - -
45. Government department that mandated programming in 14 across
47. Boca - - - - -, Florida
51. Belonging to it
53. The - - - and only
54. Area of concentration
55. Dot - - - bubble, which was followed by a bust in 2001
56. Lazy person
57. Storyline
58. Before
59. Incentive for employees

Down
1. Protocol for exchanging information between systems
2. Offshore software development leader
3. Someone who provides advice, encouragement, or training
4. Scottish rocker - - - Stewart
5. Redwood Shores database company, now a leader in enterprise apps and hardware
6. Dwelling built out of snow and ice
7. Member of rowing crew who steers the boat
8. Alphabet
9. Horror writer Edgar Allan
10. Old measure of length
13. Company leader
19. Russian space station
21. Weight loss product
23. Expression of confusion, cluelessness
24. Physicians’ organization
25. Hawaiian flower garland
27. Magazine and TV Station Nat - - -
29. Low tide
30. Hosted software
31. File extension for multimedia content
32. Temporary job
33. Standards organization
36. Gross profit minus Cost of Goods Sold
37. Someone who advises and guides your career
40. - - - - - of the Customer
42. Software company that makes Acrobat
43. Financial reward for achieving goals
44. Predecessor of USCIS, responsible for issuing H1B and other visas
46. Part of sales presentation where product is showcased
47. Questionnaire issued by buyers
48. Internet service provider
49. Financial estimate to determine direct and indirect cost of a system
50. Not in
52. Someone well-versed in a subject

The next puzzle is a Produco.
You’re a product manager in a super-matrixed organization, as represented by the chart on the left. The rows are divisions, the columns represent locations, and each 6-block rectangle is a product. You must deploy 36 people so that every division, every location, and every product has one and only one representative from
Engineering (represented by the π)
Sales (represented by the !)
Customer Care (represented by the ?)
Finance (represented by the $)
Product Management (represented by the checkbox)
Marketing (represented by a : ) )

7 team members have already been deployed. Can you deploy the rest??



The good news is that there are solutions to these puzzles. And between the time when you started solving the puzzle and the time you are given a solution.. the clues or constraints have not changed. This is where things are different from product management. But since product managers always welcome a challenge, I have put the solutions upside down.

Prodholm Syndrome: The Product Manager’s battle with Stockholm Syndrome

The legendary James Brown helps Patty the Product Manager reach new heights

Has something like this ever happened to you?

For the past 8 months Patty has been working with the same customer, a very important customer who has agreed to be the first one to implement a brand new product. Those 8 months have been full of ups and downs; requirements that surfaced way too late, product defects that proved to be very time consuming, change orders that no one wanted to approve, and new project team members that wanted to cancel the project.

But Patty was able to maintain a good relationship with the customer, she did her best to keep people focused on solving problems and putting things in perspective, and she is finally seeing her way clear to launching the product the next quarter. And just when she starts looking forward again to weekly status meetings and her issues list is showing more resolved issues than newly opened ones, Patty’s manager orders her to stop devoting so much time to the customer, to move on to new initiatives, and to tell the customer that if they don’t approve all those change orders immediately, the project will be put on hold.

Patty is shocked. She remembers clearly how on the flight back from that winning presentation a year ago her manager told her that she was the only one who could make this happen, that this was the most important customer for the future of the company and she was to do everything she could to make the project successful. And now, a year later, her efforts don’t seem to be appreciated at all, the customer’s name has gone from a magic word to a four-letter word, and no one wants to be associated with this once glamorous project anymore.

Here she is: She gave the customer her word that she would be there to make them successful. She missed her company’s holiday party because she was with the customer, she cancelled her vacation plans twice because she did not want put the project at risk… Patty wonders what she should try and rescue first: the project, her career, or her sanity.

She realizes she feels betrayed by her own manager and feels a deep loyalty towards the customer. She is worried that she is suffering from the Product Manager’s version of Stockholm Syndrome, also known as Prodholm Syndrome.

Conditions that Can Lead to Stockholm Syndrome

In 1973 criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot coined the term Stockholm Syndrome to describe a phenomenon wherein hostages have positive feelings towards their captors. Bejerot worked with bank employees in Stockholm who were held hostage by a team of bank robbers for six days. He observed that the bank employees had become emotionally attached to their captors and defended them.

Bejerot and others have identified the following conditions that can lead to Stockholm Syndrome

• Hostages view the captor as giving life by simply not taking it. The captor becomes the person in control of the hostage’s needs for survival.
• The hostage endures isolation from other people and has only the captor’s perspective available.
• The hostage sees the captor as showing kindness. Hostages often misinterpret a lack of abuse as kindness and may develop feelings of appreciation for this treatment.

Stockholm Syndrome is a very serious condition. It is considered a common survival strategy for victims of abuse, and has been observed in battered spouses, abused children, prisoners of war, and concentration camp survivors. The stresses Patty experienced as a product manager by no means compare to the stresses suffered by hostages, abuse victims, or prisoners. And yet, it is easy to see the parallels to her situation:

• She perceives the customer as giving life to the product.
• She has become isolated from her own company and had become deeply enmeshed in the customer’s organization.
• She has become a very strong advocate for the customer, explaining their requirements and defending their actions time and again.

Statistics from the FBI show that roughly 27% of hostages show evidence of Stockholm Syndrome. Possibly, Prodholm Syndrome is just as common, in Project Managers, Consultants, and Product Managers.

Is there a Treatment?

The literature warns us that treatment of Stockholm Syndrome takes time and patience and generally involves therapies that help the victim avoid isolation, develop support networks, and re-develop their view of nurturance and caring.

Recovering from Prodholm Syndrome also takes time. Here are some tips to help you recover:

Avoid isolation and develop support networks: Make time to participate in your own company’s events. Is it your turn to go to a tradeshow? Are there training opportunities you can take advantage of? Attend local meetings of professional associations. Use Facebook, LinkedIn, Meetup or Barcamp to connect with colleagues. Develop support networks in your family, your neighborhood, or any other community of which you are part.

Recalibrate your view of accomplishment and success. Perhaps your customer’s successful product launch is not the best indicator of success. It is possible that by cancelling the project and relaunching the product in another market segment, your company will derive more profit from the product in the long term. Think back to how you and your colleagues first presented the product to the customer. What problem were you trying to solve for the customer? Is the problem still relevant? Are there other ways you can solve the problem?

Chances are that you will not only recover from Prodholm Syndrome but come out of the experience with a better ability to manage complex projects, set direction for your products, manage conflict, and act as a mentor or source of support for others.

Prodholm Syndrome Risk Factors

An important question for those of us who are about to embark on complex projects is how to prevent Prodholm Syndrome. The three factors that put you at risk for Prodholm Syndrome are your organization, your role, and your own nature.

Some organizations are infamous for leading their employees into Prodholm Purgatory. Consulting firms may send their consultants on long-term assignments, keeping them away from any support structures. Those who get stuck on unprofitable projects may end up stuck in Prodholm Purgatory so long they decide to leave the company. Those who make it through Prodholm Purgatory can count on a promotion.

Other organizations have strong support structures ranging from mentoring programs, performance reviews, reward and recognition programs, and a clear communication of corporate and individual goals.

Some functional roles are more inherent to Prodholm Syndrome than others. Product Managers who are able to develop a holistic view of the product and market are not as susceptible to Prodholm Syndrome as implementation specialists or project managers. Some would argue that a Product Manager should never have been in Patty’s situation. A Program Manager should be responsible for the customer success, while a Product Manager looks out for the overall success of the product in the market. This is a great way to define roles and responsibilities, but there are not always enough resources to organize this way.

Finally, some individuals are more likely develop Prodholm Syndrome than others. Perfectionists,worriers, or those of us who over-empathize can develop Prodholm Syndrome quite easily.

Prodholm Syndrome Prevention

So what if you’re a perfectionist working in an organization that offers no support structures, and you have just kicked off a project that has Prodholm Syndrome written all over it?

A way to prevent Prodholm Syndrome is to get a clear understanding from all stakeholders as to what constitutes success, and to have an understanding of how the project fits into your own career path. This will help you re-calibrate your understanding of success and accomplishment over time.

It is also very important to maintain your support networks, no matter how much time the project demands of you. Tell your customer and your manager you will be attending a Product Camp on Saturday. They may be dismayed that you are not spending your Saturday catching up on issues lists and bug reports, but hopefully they will realize that the tips and techniques you will encounter at Product Camp will benefit them in the long run.

What if it’s Terminal?

So what happened to Patty? She analyzed her situation, she spoke with colleagues and mentors. She decided that her company did not offer the support she needed to be successful and she left. She setup her own consulting practice with a mission to help customers with product selection, vendor selection, and product implementation.

Patty likes to sing along with her idol James Brown to the tune of I FEEL GOOD:

Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now
I feel good, I knew that I would, now
So good, so good, Prodholm-Free

Whoa! I feel nice, like sugar and spice
I feel nice, like sugar and spice
So nice, so nice, Prodholm-Free

When I focus on my project
I know that my decisions are sound
and when I reach out to my network
I gain perspective all around

and I feel nice, like sugar and spice
I feel nice, like sugar and spice
So nice, so nice, Prodholm-Free

When I focus on my project
I know that my decisions are sound
and when I reach out to my network
I gain perspective all around

and I feel nice, like sugar and spice
I feel nice, like sugar and spice
So nice, so nice, Prodholm-Free

Whoa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now
I feel good, I knew that I would
So good, so good, Prodholm-Free
So good, so good, Prodholm-Free
So good, so good, Prodholm-Free